ALUMNI UPDATES

More Than a Survivor

By Rammy Park ’04

“I would like to be a local survivor, please.”

Six weeks after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma in January 2002,
Dina Kotkin Feivelson ’91 was on the phone saying these words,
volunteering with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. A year-and-a-half
later, she was traveling the country, giving talks as a Myeloma Mentor,
and she’s still at it. Even as she searched for a bone marrow
match of her own, Feivelson organized a blood and bone marrow drive
with Columbia Hillel. Since then, more than 200 people have registered
in her name, while countless others continue to provide funding.

Dina Kotkin Feivelson ’91 and
her husband, Neal ’91E.

PHOTOS: CHRIS TAGGART

Meeting Feivelson, it’s hard to tell that she suffers from one
of the world’s most rare — and lethal — cancers.
Multiple myeloma is difficult to treat; the five-year success rate
is only 30 percent, meaning seven of every 10 people who have the disease
do not survive past five years. Feivelson’s case is particularly
problematic because she has not responded well to many of the available
drugs and procedures. Even so, she has vibrant energy and wit; she
laughs at herself and, at times, her situation. Case in point: Feivelson
notes that the illness usually affects elderly male African-Americans.
Then she points to her young female Jewish self and smiles sarcastically.

Feivelson, who received the 2005 Columbia College Women Alumna Achievement
Award on March 30, volunteers with Team-In-Training, a Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society program. Teams train for and participate in endurance sports
to raise money to research blood cancers: leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma
and others. Being a local survivor, but unable to physically train
for a marathon, Feivelson joins the team as an “honored patient,” someone
who inspires teammates and gives a face to their cause. Emily Young,
campaign director for Team-In-Training, calls Feivelson “an exemplary
volunteer … one who has helped us to achieve a deeper connection
with our participants.” But Feivelson says she’s more moved
by volunteers who do not have cancer. “They’re running
26.2 miles, they’re raising $3,900 and they don’t have
to? That’s inspiring.”

In May 2003, Feivelson helped charter the Myeloma Mentor program within
the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. As a mentor, she travels
the country speaking to support groups, professors and doctors. She
helps people cope with myeloma by talking about her experiences and
offering advice. She enthusiastically recounts her first time being
interviewed on television on the show Healthwise in North Carolina;
the memory brings an enormous smile to her face. Feivelson hopes to
continue advocating with more television and speaking appearances.

She even talks to pharmaceutical companies because she believes that
it’s essential to teach them to humanize cancer treatment. “They
only know the drugs,” Feivelson says. “They don’t
know the patient who has to deal with them and what they do to the
patient’s quality of life. They need to know.”

Feivelson’s Columbia education prepared her well for this kind
of work. After earning a B.A. in English and comparative literature,
she earned a master’s in public health in population and family
health (’97 PH) and a master’s in philosophy in sociomedical
sciences (’02 GSAS). While juggling her hectic volunteer schedule,
she is pursuing a Ph.D. in sociomedical sciences at GSAS. She initially
wanted to study reproductive medicine advocacy and policy, but after
discovering she was ill, she shifted her focus to oncology, the study
of cancer.

After finishing her Ph.D., Feivelson plans to work in medical ethics
while increasing her cancer advocacy work. She wants to travel and
speak more, and credits her boundless energy to her husband of nine
years, Neal Feivelson ’91E. “He takes care of everything
so I don’t have to,” she says. “He’s incredible.”

Feivelson was awarded CCW’s highest honor because she views her
illness as an opportunity to advocate for others rather than a setback.
She considers herself a resource not only to raise money for cancer
but also to help others who are going through the same ordeal. And
she never seems to tire of it. Before accepting her CCW award, Feivelson
circulated a clipboard asking attendees to sign up for the bone marrow
registry. When asked about a link to include in case College alumni
were interested in registering to be donors (www.marrow.org), she replied, “I
wonder if we could schedule a drive in time so that it can be announced
in the article?” While Feivelson’s schedule didn’t
allow for that, her endless enthusiasm will undoubtedly inspire others
to support her cause.

Rammy Park ’04is a freelance writer who works in television
news at NY1.